Friday, November 2

Watercress, Seckel Pear, and Brie Salad: Safe to Serve for Company

I don't think there is a cheese that my father doesn't like. He once received a pungent, powerfully-smelly Italian cheese from a friend; he described it as: "Good. Very tasty. With the smell though, you could never serve it for company, but if it's just for close family, yeah, it's good."

It certainly didn't stop him, or my family, from eating it.

At my house we ate a lot of cheese -- as a appetizer, on dishes, after dinner, or just for a snack. Unlike Reggiano-Parmesan and Grana Padano, brie was not a staple cheese growing up, but it's a staple in our refrigerator now.

In fact, there is currently a wheel of brie made from goat's milk in my refrigerator courtesy of Steve at Ile de France, (he has no idea how happy he has made Jeff). It has a remarkably silky texture and pleasingly tart flavor.

Though most typically served as an appetizer with crackers and cured meats, or baked into a puff pastry, brie is quite versatile. It enlivens paninis, enriches pastas, and makes delectable crostini and quesadillas. For a rustic dessert, pair it with nuts and fresh fruit such as grapes, figs, dates, and pears.

Although brie is a French culinary specialty, it is popular outside of France, and available at most supermarkets here in the States.

I used brie to make a seasonal salad of spicy watercress, sweet Seckel pears, and chewy Medjool dates. Seckel pears are the tiniest of all pears and one of the tastiest -- so sweet that they have been called, "sugar pears." As you can see, they are short and rotund with dark green skin that often has a bloom of burgundy. If you are fortunate enough to have them in your market, then try them.

This is my submission for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging. The host is WHB's creator, Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, who recently celebrated her two-year anniversary for the always popular Weekend Herb Blogging.

To toast the pecans, place nuts in a single layer in a medium size skillet. Over medium-low heat, cook pecans for 5-7, stirring occasionally until slightly toasted and fragrant. Alternatively, pre-heat oven to 300 degrees. Place nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet in oven for about 5 minutes, give them a stir, and bake another 3-5 minutes or until slightly toasted and fragrant.

Saute shallots in 1 tsp olive oil, for 3-5 minutes until softened. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the dressing, whisk all of the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

To make individual salads, start by placing some watercress in the center of a plate, then add pear slices, some brie, and some dates. Top with toasted pecans and drizzle with dressing. Repeat with remaining three dishes.

40 comments:

I noticed those pears the other day and I have to admit, I didn't know anything about them...silly because I love pears and feel pride in knowing when to use a bosc or a bartlett in a recipe. Thanks for writing about these!Julie

Your salad looks gorgeous. I haven't tasted too much cheese - mostly the usual Cheddar, Mozz., Parmesan and feta, so I can't say much. My Dad treated a Dutch missionary for illness once. When he refused payment, the missionary insisted so my dad said get me some cheese from Holland, and that man did! Should find out what kind it was!

Brie is something I NEVER ate growing up, but once I got into my 20s (and my friends and I got out of college) it started showing up everywhere. I LOVE it.

And I have an affinity for salads with unexpected ingredients, too, so this is right up my alley.

AND ... if you have a moment, will you tell me a bit about your print-only pages?! I've been looking for a gizmo like this for almost a year now, but with my limited html skills it just ain't been happenin'.

I think this sounds fabulous. I love brie, and I'm always interested in finding a way to eat it that doesn't involve white bread. I've never had this type of pears, but I'm imagining the flavors of pears, brie, and dates and I'm positive it's a total winner!

oh susan those little pears are too much! oh how i need to have brie and pears now, sounds and looks incredible. it looks like we were on the same page in our salads last week :):) love brie too, some day i want to master baked brie we should both try it.....hint hint...

Totally agree on with your brie conclusion. Cooking for my extended family recently, I suggested mushrooms stuffed with blue cheese. This met with a wrinkling of noses. As did goats' cheese and taleggio. Brie was the winner!

Wonderful-looking salad. The combo of brie and pears is such a classic.

I also adore melted brie... particularly in the summer tossed with ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic and olive oil and then mixed into hot pasta (old Silver Palate recipe)... try it out on your Dad sometime and watch him swoon. :-)